Jupiter Falls After Earnings Miss Some Analysts’ Estimates

March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Jupiter Fund Management Plc, a U.K.
fund manager that held an initial public offering in June,
dropped the most on record in London trading after its full-year
earnings missed some analysts’ estimates.

Full-year operating profit climbed 48 percent to 77.3
million pounds ($125 million), the London-based firm said today
in a statement. That was 6.8 percent below the estimate of Mark
Williamson, a London-based analyst at Peel Hunt Ltd.

“There were a number of items related to the IPO that
complicated the picture,” said Williamson, who reduced his
rating on the stock to “hold.”. Without taking into account a
7.8 million-pound charge connected to the IPO and a 2 million-pound property provision, profit beat his expectations.

Administration costs, which include expenses incurred in
the IPO, rose 25 percent to 115.1 million pounds. Net income
climbed to 32.5 million pounds from 8.6 million pounds. Assets
under management gained 24 percent to 24.1 billion pounds.

The stock dropped 6.4 percent to 298 pence for a market
value of 1.36 billion pounds.

“The underlying earnings are very good,” Williamson said.
Jupiter’s “valuation is a substantial premium to the sector so
there may be some profit taking going on.”

Jupiter, which earns fees from the money it manages, has
still climbed 68 percent since its IPO as a gain in the FTSE
All-Share Index helped increase asset values. The firm recently
made appointments including naming Guy de Blonay lead manager of
its Financial Opportunities Fund and Philip Matthews as deputy
manager of the Jupiter Income Trust.